Dear Colleagues
There is a lot of truth to the opportunities at
VB for 330 qualified checkers or trainers. This will be a one off opportunity to leave the sandpit and come home on about half the take home pay you get in the desert.
Make no mistake about it, there will not be a second bite at this. As was the case with VA, if you do not come in the first group of DEC's, there will not be another opportunity. After the initial start up phase, it seems likely that all future 330 pilots will be sourced internally, as was the case with the 777.
What I would like to impress upon anyone considering this opportunity is, don't make the same mistake the 777 drivers did. That mistake was not talking to the
VB pilots, or more specifically the AFAP (the only union at the time) before accepting their contracts. The end result of that is the appalling contract VA 777 drivers now have.
It is widely accepted amongst the pilot group and the unions that DEC's are a necessity to introduce the 330, so there should be no animosity toward any DEC's who choose to have a crack at the positions. In fact, on the contrary, current pilots at both
VB and VA have vested interest in doing whatever they can to ensure incoming DEC's get paid as much as possible. Any new benchmark salaries will probably have a flow on effect to
VB and VA pilots.
VA pilots are currently in EBA talks, and
VB pilots will be commencing EBA talks in the coming 12 months, so the A330 conditions are of utmost relevance.
At present, the likely strategy the company will employ is to try and get 330 DEC's to accept conditions similar to the VA 777 pilots. If they can do this, they will then use that as a benchmark to attack
VB pilots conditions at the next EBA, and VA pilots will be able to kiss any improved conditions good bye.
All of the ex EK 777 pilots are members of VIPA, and there are probably many familiar names amongst the AFAP members. Do yourselves and all other pilots a favour and get in touch with someone in either of the unions before you accept any offers.
I cannot overstate how crucial this will be. Anyone who accepts conditions that are less than current
VB conditions will most likely be loudly and publicly condemned, and is destined to have a fairly miserable time at work.
Anyone who does the harder thing and gets in contact with current
VB or VA pilots and does their bit to ensure the conditions here are not further eroded will be welcomed into the fold.
In closing, I would not expect anyone to fall on their sword and throw away the opportunity to return to Oz, just on principle. The message i am trying to convey is that there is a good bunch of blokes back here who understand that we need the experience to kick off the A330, but we want to do whatever can be done to ensure that DEC's are not used as a weapon to further erode conditions in OZ.
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Australian Federation of Air Pilots